Golf-stroke dynamometer and indoor-golf apparatus



Jan. 30, 1923.

C. H. HUTTON.

GOLF STROKE DYNAMOMETER AND INDOOR GOLF APPARATUS.

2 SHEETSSHEET HLED FEB. 4, I922.

ii m5 mm R .2 a W W M 5 Chores H. Hutzon Jan. 30, 1923.

- c. H. HUTTON.

GOLF STROKE DYNAMOMETER AND INDOOR GOLF APPARATUS.

2 SHE S SHEET Z I Imvsmnn lffwries H Huiion FILED FEB f1, 1922.

gel t ball.

- trotted Patented Jan. 30, 1923.

CHARLES HYDEHUTTON, or HAMILTDN, ONTARIO, CANADA.

GOLF-STROKE DYNAMOMETER AND INDOOR-GOLF APPARATUS.

Application filed February 4, 1922. Serial No. 534,170.

T alive/"2.0m it may concern:

Bert known that l, Crntnnnslirnn HorioN 21. subject of the King of Great Britain,

and a resident. of the city of Hamilton, in

the county of Wentworth, Province of Ontario, Dominion of Canada, have 1.11-

vented certain new and useful Improvements in Golf-Stroke Dynnmometers and IJ'lClOQlf-GOl'f Apparatus, of which thejtollowing is 2L specificstion- My invent on relates to improvements in golf stroke dynznnometers and indoor golf epgmrstns end the object of the invention is to devise/an apparatus whereby driving "okes may be practised indoors under conactuolly existing on the ordinary golf course,

provisionbeing made for ascertaining the.

direction and distance of flight of a driven My invention consists generally of. an

end oi" which "the golf lmll is driven, a target:

sheet suspended at the rear end of the tunnel neons tor maintaining the etched. and indicating means cosheet ,eretiii;r with said target sheet for mensun ing; the probable fl ght of a driven troll bell impinging aga nst the sheet, all as hereinotter more 'J:t:'ticulm ly described and illus drawings in in the nccoinpnnying l it ti-ont elevzition of my inven tion looking into the canvas tunnel.

Fig. 2 a longitudinal section on the line 52. 2 oi? Fig. 1 looking in the direction oi the arrows.

Fig. 3 is since View of the indicator of the dy'nemometer showing the Inethodot mounting same and the cables connecting therewith. i

Fig: i is a side view of Fig. 3.-

i 1 545; it face 'iewot the indicator.

i i o is a section on the line (3, 6 of Fig. looking in the direction the arrows.

in the drawings like characters of reference indicate corresponding ports in the di't terent views.

its trout :ind rear ends and is suitably supported within a main wooden "framework 2 by the rope lashing The floor of the tunnel slopes from back to front.

ditions very closely corresponding to those open ended relives tunneh into the front 1 is g1 fonr sided canvas tunnel open at 5 and here top and bottom rollers rotat-.

ably supported in bearings '7 and disposed transversely of the frame 2 at its rear end and adjacentto the top and bottom thereof.

8 is ecenvas'target sheet connected at its ends to the rollers5 and 6, the sheetextendin;' across therear open end of the tunnel 1.

The sheet is divided by a series of up-t right parallel lines 9 into a series of strips and has marked thereon a central bulls eye 1!). pear hereinafter.

The purposeo-i' these markings will ep '11 is a cabinet mounted at the rear of the p frame 2. I I

The weighto'f the target. sheet 8, which tends to rotatethe top roller 5, is counterbalnnced by main sheet weight springs lit end an auxiliary sheet we1ght spring 13,

will be descr bed herethe letter of which limiter, I r

The springs 12 are contained within the cabinet 11, their-lower ends being secured thereto and their, upper, ends to a. ring l i also within the cabinet. 7 v

15 is a. cable secured to the top rollerfi and leading over the rear side thereof and being: secured at its lower end to the ring l-tl. This cable passes through an orifice 16 in the top of the cabinet 11.

tiihetension ot the sheet 8 is provided and controlled by main sheet tension spring 17 within the cabinet 11. and aneuxiliary sheet tension spring 18, the latter of which will be described hereinafter. V

. The spring" 17 has its upper end connected to the ring 14 and its lower end to a cable '19 which passes through an orifice 20 in the bottom of the cabinet 11 and over the rear side of the lower roller-6 to which roller the end of said cable is secured.

21 indicates collectively the indicating de vice, used in my invention, and is located at the rear of one of the front upright members of the main framework 2. I I is ilcable secured to the top roller and leads "forwardly from the underside thereof. This cable passes "downwardly over :1 guide wheel at the front of the main frame .2- and carries at its end a ring 24. is :1, cable secured to the bottom roller (5 and leads forwardly from the top side thereof. guide wheel 26 at the front end of the main frame 2 midis" secured at its end to the The cable'passes upwardly over lower end of the auxiliary sheet tension spring 18, the upper end or said spring 18 being seoured'to. the ring 24.

The indicatlng device 21 comprises the main bracket 27 having the slot 28" therein.

29 is a graduated scale slidably mounted within the slot-28 in the bracket 27 and carries at its top and bottom ends the friction clamps 30 and 31 by means of whlcl said scale may be firmly clamped upon the cable 25.

bracket 27 through which the cable 25' passes.

36 are rider stops secured to the lace of the bracket 27 and areadapted to engage the under sidejoit' the rider as will her inafter appear. p I 1 37 is a cable-connecting the upper end of the main bracket '27, to the ring; 24.

The lower end of the bracket 27 connects with the upper end of the 'auxiliarysheet weight spring 13 while the lower end oi -the spring is secured to the'mam irame 2 by means of the eye boltBS.

39 and 40 are top and bottom'cushioned' I supports-carried by the frame 2 at the rear end of the tunnel. a

The construction and operation or my 1nvention is as follows; 1

Since the weight or the target sheet 8 will tend to rotate the top roller 5, it is ,necesSarythat this weight be counterbal anced. This is provided for as previously stated by the main sheet weight springs 12 and: the auxiliary sheet weight spring 13. The tendency of-the 'weightofthe sheet 8 will be to rotate the top roller anti-clockwise in Fig.2 and it will beseen that rotation in this direction is opposed by both the springsil'2 and 13, and by suitably arranging thestrength of said springs the weight of the suspended portion of the sheet may be accurately counterbalanced.

In order that the device will constitute an efiicient dynamometer the sheet must be put under an initial tension and this tension is providechby the main sheet'tension spring 1?" andthe auxiliary sheet tension spring 18.

From an examination or 2 of the drawings it will beclear that the tendency of the spring 1'? will beto rotatethe upper roller clockwise (see Fig. 2) and the bottom roller antirclockwise andthus to roll the .heet 8 up upon said rollers which will of course result in stretching the sheet and putting it under tension.

The action of spring 18 will be the same as that of 17 above mentioned since this spring 18 connects the cables 22 and 25 which leadrespectively front the bottom side of the top. roller and the top side of the bottom roller. These springsv Hand 18 will cooperate with each other in maintaining the sheet under tension. f

Before making a stroke the indicator rider 32 is slid by hand alongthe cable25 into a position in which it is in engagement with the rider stops 36, in which position its indicating edge 34; is at zero on the graduated scale29.

The player drives a golf ball from the front end of the tunnel l and upon the driven ball impinging upon the target sheet, said sheet is displaced rearwardly an amount proportionalto the force of the impact of the ball thereon, and it is the extent ottthis displacement of the. sheet that the dynamometer is designed to indicate. The rearward d splacement of the sheet causes the rollers 5 and 6 to rotate in opposite directions and the combined rotation is transmited through the connecting cables to the sheet tension springs and is equal to the extension or said springs.

The rotation oi the upper roller draws t re main bracket 2'? upwardly through the cable 22 while that of the lower roller draws the cable 25 downwardly and since the graduated scale 29 is firmly held to the cable 25 by the friction clamps 30 and 31, it therefore moves downwardly inthe slot 28 a dis tance equal to the combined rotation of the rollers and the indicator rider 32 is slid along the cable 25 a similar distance.

i As the springs restore the target sheet 8 to its initial position and tension. both the indicator rider 32 and scale 29 are carried upwardly by the cable 25 while the bracket 2T moves downwardly and when the device has come to rest the position of the rider 32 on the scale 29 will give a measure of the total displacement of the rollers.

The graduated scale 29 maybe suitably calibrated in yards this indicating the distance that the golf ball would have travelled had it not been interrupted in its flight by the target sheet. This calibration would be done by an expert player of known driving ability. I

The scale may, of course, be altered at will by altering the strength of the sheet tension springs 17 and 18.

After having made a stroke and before the next stroke the indicator rider 32 must be slid back along the cable to its proper zero position.

In order that the direction of flight may be observed as well as the distance, the target sheetis divided by lines 9 and for further practising accuracy of direction the bulls eye 10 is provided.

of the regular golf course can be very closelyapproximated indoors on a suitable carpet, but I am not aware of any really successful and useful indoor device for practising driving and it has been for supplying such a device that my invention has been developed.

In former devices for indoor driving artificial conditions have been introduced which do not exist when actually playing on the course and thesehave rendered the beneficial results i of their use doubtful. Some of these employed a captive golf ball attached to a wire or string while others have used a parachute attachment carried by the ball. It will readily be realized that any such devices completely change the behavior of the driven ball from what it would be if the ball were entirely free.

Inmy apparatus an ordinary free golf ball is used and all conditions ofits flight up to the time it strikes the target are identical with those existing. on the usual outdoor course and therefore my apparatus will provide a means for obtaining valuable and useful indoor practice in driving.

Obviously, various forms of indoor games may be played with my apparatus by suitably marking the target sheet, such as the bulls eye 10, and drawing up any desired set of rules.

From the foregolng it will be apparent that I have devised an indoor apparatus whereby indoor practice in driving may be had under conditions very closely approximating to actual outdoor conditions on the golf course. v

Various modifications may be made in my invention without departing from the spirit of the same or the scope of the claims and therefore the form shown is to be'taken as illustrative only and not in a limiting sense.

For instance, the curtain might be supported in other ways than on the rollers shown. Also the exact form of indicator for the dynamometer might be varied.

What I claim as my invention is:

1'. Agolf stroke dynamometer comprising a flexible sheet connected at its ends to a pair of parallel rollers, and a portion of said sheet extending between said rollers. spring means acting to rotate; the rollers in opposite direct-ions to stretch the sheet therebetween, and impact indicating means operated by the rotation of the rollers in cident upon the displacement of the sheet due to a. blow thereon.

2. A golf, stroke dynamometer comprisinga flexible sheet suspended between top and bottom horizontal rollers, spring means acting to rotate the rollers in opposite directions to stretch the sheet therebetween, means for counterbalancing the suspended weight of the sheet, and impact indicating means operated by the rotation of the rollers incident upon the displacement of the sheet due to a blow thereon.

3. A golf stroke dynamometer comprising a flexible sheet suspended between top 1 and bottom horizontal rollers, spring means 'actlng to rotate the rollers 1n opposite directions to stretch the sheet 'therebetween, spring means for counterbalancing the suspended Weight of the sheet, an impact indi-;

cator, and a. cable operatively connecting each roller to the impact indicator.

4. A golf stroke dynamometer comprising a flexible sheet suspended between top and bottom horizontal rollers, spring means acting to rotate the rollers in opposite directions to stretch. the sheet therebetweenp spring means for counterbalancing the suspended weight of the sheet, an impact indicator, connecting means between the impactindicator and rollers whereby the total relative rotation of the rollers incident upon the displacement of the sheet due to a blow thereon is shown on the indicator.

5. A golf stroke dynamometer corn-prising a main framework structure, an impact receiving element mounted at the rear end thereof,,cables extending forwardly of the frame and engaging respectively the top and bottom mountings of the impact re ceiving element, the forward ends of said cables connected by a tension spring, an

impact indicator at the front of the frame, and COIllPIlSlllg a main bracket, a graduated scale slidably carried thereby, one end of the bracket connected to one of the aforesaid cables and the other end of the bracket receiving element mounted at the rear end thereof, cables extending forwardly the frame and engaging respectively the top and bottom mountings of the impact receiving element, the forward ends of said cables connected by a tension spring. an impact indicator at the front of the frame and comprising a main bracket having a slot therein, a graduated scale slidably mounted within said slot. one end of the bracket connected to one of the aforesaid cables and the other end of the bracket connected to. the

main frame by a tension sprin ,the graduated scale being secured to the other of the aforesaid .cables, an indicator rider carried by the latter cable and slidable thereon,

, rider stops fixedly carried by the bracket front of the frame, said indicator compris and" adapted to engage the rider to limit relative, motion between the bracket and rider, and means for drawing both cables rearwardly coincidently with the displacement of the impact receiving element due to a blow struck thereon.

7. A golf stroke dynam ometer comprising a main framework structure, horizontally disposed rollers mounted at the rear end and atjthe. top and bottom thereof, a

flexible sheet secured to the rollers and eX- tendin therebetween s Drill? controlled b v I 7 i a means for counterbalanclng the suspended weight of the sheet, sheet tensioning means extending between the rollers on the side remote from thesheet, cables secured to therollers and extending forwardly of the frame on; adjacent sides of the rollers,the forward ends, of said cables connected by a tens1on spring, an nnpact indicator at the ing afmain bracket, a graduated scale slid ably carried thereby, one end of the bracket connected to the upper of said cables, and

the other end of the bracket connected to,

the main frame by a tension spring, the graduated scale being secure l to the lower of the aforesaid cables, a rider shdably carried by the lower cable and co-o ')erating with the, markings on the graduated scale,

rider stops fixedly carried by the bracket and adapted to engage said riderforlimits ing relative motion between the'rider and,

bracket, the too, and bottom cables ada )ted L l i to be rolled upon the corresponding rollers and drawn rearwardly coincidently with the displacement of the sheet due to a blow impinging upon the frontside thereof.

8. A golf apparatus comprising a main framework structure, an open ended tunnel carried longitudinally thereln, upper and v lower horizontal rollers carried at the rear' end ofrthe frame, a flexible'sheet connected at its ends to said rollers and extending therebetween, the intermediate portion of said sheet covering the rear open end of the tunnel, spring means acting to rotate said rollers in opposite directions to stretch said sheet therebetween, and impact indicating means operated by the rotation of the rollers incident upon the displacement of the sheet due to ablow in'ipinging on the front' face thereof. 5

9. A' golf apparatus comprising a main I framework structure, an open ended tunnel carried longitudinally therein. upper andv lower horizontal rollers carried at the rear end of the frame, a fiexlble sheet connected at its, en'dsto said rollers and extending therebetween, the intermediate portion of said sheet coverin the rear open end of the tunnel, spring means acting to rotate said rollers in opposite direct-ions to stretch said sheet therebetween, spring means for connte'rbalancing thesuspended weight of the sheet, and impact indicating means operatedby the rota an of the rollers incident uponthe displacement of the sheet due-to a blow impinging on the front face thereof.

10. A golf apparatus comprising a main framework structure, 'an open ended tunnel carried lon 'it-udinall' therein u her and;

lower horizontahrollers carried at the rear of theframe, flexible sheet connected to said rollers and the intermediate portlon thereof'extending between said rollers and coy erlng jthe rear open end of the tunnel,

spring. means for counterbalancing the suspended jweightof thesheet, sheet tensioning mean'sfextending between the rollers on the side remote from the sheet, cable s. secured to the ,r'ollers and; extendingforwardly of the, frame on-adjacentsides10f the rollers,

the forward ends of said cables connected by a tension spring, an impact indicator ttl'i'e front ofthe frame, said indicatorcomprising ai'in'ain bracket, a' 'graduated scale slidablypca rried' thereby, one end of the. bracket connected to the upper of said'cables,v

and theother end of'thebracket connected to'themain frame bya tension spring, the graduatedscale being'secured to the lower of the aforesaid cables,'a'riderslidably carried by the lower cable and co-operating witli the markings on the graduated scale,

rider stops fixedly 'carried by the bracket and adapted to, engage said rider for limiting relative motion between the rider and bracket, the top and bottom cables adapted to be rolled upon the corresponding rollers and drawn rearwardly coincidently with, the

displacement of the sheet due to a blow'impinging upon the front side thereof.

11. In an apparatus of the class described,

thef c'ombination with two cables adapted to be pulled in oppositedirections, against thev tension of controlling springs, upon the operation of the apparatus, of an indicator comprising a bracket, a graduated scale slidably carried thereby, the bracket secured to the/ first of the cables and the scale.

the combinationwith two cables adapted to be pulled in opposite directions, against the tension ofcontrolling springs. upon the operation of the apparatus, ofan indicator. comprising a bracket having a longitudinal slot therein, a graduated scale slidably mounted in said slot, the bracket secured to the first cable and the scale to the second cable, a rider slidably carried by the second cable, and stops fixedly carried by the bracket and engaging the rider for limiting the relative movement of the bracket and rider.

13. In an apparatus of the class described, the combination With two cables adapted to be pulled in opposite directions, against the tension of controlling springs, upon the eperation oil: the apparatus, of an indicator comprising a bracket, a graduated scale carried by the bracket, the bracket secured to the first of the cables, an indicating rider slidably carried by the second cable, and

stops fixedly carried by the bracket and en- NORIEEN CoLEs. 

